LIES

Fibs, little white lies – we are all guilty. However, most of us have transcended into people recognizing the immaturity of the hurtful, harmful, hateful lies permeating our social media screens with a rhetoric that jolts us, scars our inner souls. How should we navigate the waters of a society which not only accepts this perverse lying, but actually promotes and endorses that which most rational people know to be untrue?

Today, especially in the USA with an approaching election, this untruthfulness begins with the 1st news story of the day and does not end until the screens get shut down in the evening. My friends, that’s the secret – shut off the screens.

Fine, then deal with the garbage being spewed in whatever way works best for you. But, do not be deceived lest you be devoured. One side is not squeaky clean while the other is like fetid sewer water in the summer heat. Both sides are guilty of lying and deceit. We are nothing more than hacks in their game-playing.

Back to the question – how do we navigate these waters and maintain sanity? First, we need to recognize that in the historicity of this world, today, May 15 2020, is little more than a blip on the radar screen, a tiny speck that will probably be forgotten a century from now. Secondly, we need to find comfort in the ancient wisdom of all religions, faith traditions, and spiritual philosophies that confirm one of my favorite verses from the Judaic tradition in the book of Proverbs, chapter 22, verse 8, which suggests that:

“Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster.”

King Solomon, known as the wisest man among the wise in his culture, affirms others who have modernized the words to say, “What goes around, comes around.” Say it however you like, this sentiment gives comfort to those of us who believe that someday, somehow, the injustices of this world will be addressed. Otherwise, we have no reason to believe in the goodness and mercy of this Creation.

It’s a choice, isn’t it? You and I decide each day what we will accept as truth and reality. Will it be the tirades and lies of our political world or the blessings gifted to us by the wisdom of ancient traditions? Which will it be?